Delayed Translation
by YTSC
Summary: Garrus a soldier is sent out to fight the humans in the First contact war aka Relay 314 Incident. He start to notice that every failed mission or hasty retreat has one thing in common. During one battle for foothold on a planet he discovers what. Not only that but someone seems to be pulling the strings and rooting for an never-ending war between the turian and humans. (Hiatus)
1. The Scent

There it was again, the scent he had unconsciously started to look for whenever he was in a battle against humans. It was spicy and stood out from the smoke, sweat and blood from the battleground.

The first time he had smelled it was when his team had been pushed back from their outpost. After that it had always reappeared together with failed missions or hasty retreats.  
His fellow comrades had mocked him when he mentioned it. Said it was just his nerves or superstitions.  
Some had stated that he probably were unaccustomed to the smell of humans, but if so then it should had changed after the third encounter in battle.  
Garrus shook his head in an attempt to clear it as he put in a new thermal clip.

He had been forced to switch from sniper rifle to assault rifle, rapid fire over power. The humans were pushing them back. He had to admit they were persistent, even if their weapons were not on the same level did most of the groups he had encountered packed a mean punch.  
But this one seemed extra eager to push them back. They had not been given any breathing room; night and day was filled with sound of guns. Less than half of the squad was left with only one high-ranking commander left.

" HEADS UP SOLDIERS!"

Just as the words left his commander's lips a grenade exploded just a few steps away from Garrus, more exploded soon after the first one. Dust clouds made it hard to see and the sound of the air filter in his helmet drummed in his ears together with a ringing sound. His head was spinning and his vision blurred. Soldiers were helping each other up or screaming for help, the ground had changed from brown to black and in the middle of everything the humans rushed in.

They swept down as a hoard of rachni gunning at everyone that tried to fight back: brutal, but efficient.  
Garrus was forced down on the ground with his face against the wet dirt together with the other few that did not fight back.  
His weapon discarded on the ground and broken. A human was standing above Garrus with a gun aimed at his head. He noticed a pair of black boots coming closer and wrinkled his nose: it was that scent and it was getting stronger. He felt how his mandibles tightened around his mouth.

A slender ungloved hand picked up his weapon. Garrus tried to raise his head to face the human in front of him but was pushed down again by the one behind him.  
He did not know what annoyed him the most, the fact that someone else were carelessly handling his gun or that he was kept from uncovering the source of the scent.  
Him and the rest of the surviving turians were blindfolded and roughly herded somewhere. His omni-tool picked up words and sentences but not enough to fully understand the situation.  
The war had erupted so fast that a translator from human to turian had yet been fully developed. When the blindfold came of he realised that they were in an old camp of theirs. The humans had moved in after driving them away. Garrus prepared himself for the worst, rumours had it that humans lacked honour and were overly cruel.  
But instead of a torture chamber were they placed in a separate part of the camp, stripped of weapon and surrounded by guards. He tried to figure out what all the different facial expressions the humans made meant but gave up, as they seemed to change faster than a hired-arm's loyalty.  
Some days went without anyone interacting with them in any special way.

The humans close to them never spoke out loud, neither to them or themselves. They were given food, probably what the other turian squad had left when they had retreated from this camp. Garrus was not sure if this was the calm before the storm or the middle of it. The scent left the camp from time to time but he had pushed any speculation about it back for now. He tried to keep his companions on edge and expecting anything and everything while observing and taking notes.  
With him they were four, Sidonis was the only one he really knew, the other two were like strangers to him. He recognised one of them as a member of the Victus family. The other one was a strange to him and had black plates, piercing cold grey eyes. He thought that the other turian was bare faced for a moment, but then he noticed two darker lines on each mandible.

One day was the daily routine of being watched and fed interrupted. He noticed how every guard saluted a approaching human, it pinged his interest and even more when he realised that the scent was moving closer too. The human was clad in black armour with red stripes on the right arm together with a helmet covering everything but the eyes. Green eyes observe them and to his surprise they halted on him.

The human walked up to him and stopped only one step away facing him. His eyes widened, this human was the sole source of the scent that had hunted him on the battlegrounds. But nothing surprised him more as when the human took of its helmet and void dark fringe fell down over the shoulder framing a face with red lips and pale skin; it was a female. He noticed the small differences between the human female in front of him and the guards. Shorter and slender but still powerful, a scar on her face ran over the nose almost reaching from side to side of her head. She opened her mouth and spoke to him; the translator struggled to keep up and seemed to be a bit delayed.

" I'm commander Shepard and I'm in charge of this squad. Do you understand me?"

He blinked, the words had been translated well enough but he had no idea of knowing if she meant ' _Do you understand that I'm in charge here'_ or ' _do you understand what I say'_.

Her voice had carried no subvocal to help him so he simply opted for nodding his head in reply.


	2. Farfetched Speculation

By what his translator was able to convey to him it seemed like they were going to be used in a trade. The Alliance had promised to release them if The Hierarchy in turn released selected high ranked human prisoners. Someone back at home must have pulled some strings, why else would he and his group be worth trading? He knew that his dad was a respected C-sec officer but still. Something about the whole situation left a bad taste in his mouth.  
The conversation was short and the human Shepard simply left when it was over, without giving any more information.

" What did the human want? Are we to expect the worst?"  
It was Sidonis who broke the silence that the female had left behind.

" No, apparently are they going to trade us for some of their own captured high ranked soldiers. "

Sidonis expressed the same surprise that he ha felt. When asked why he just stated that he did not know either. Sidonis went back to the spot he had claimed as his own and left Garrus alone to his thoughts.  
He noticed that the Victus boy's mandibles twitched in worry, had he heard their conversation, did he know something? Garrus walked up to him as discreetly he could.

" Any idea what is going on?" He mumbled to the turian with white facial markings.

" Only a speculation and by the spirit, hope it is just a farfetched one. "

Garrus nodded but urged the other one to keep on talking.

" My name is Tarquin Victus and my father is by the Hierarchy's succession rules able to become Primarch. That is the only reasons I can come up with them even consider trading human prisoners of high ranks for us. "

" And what is the bad news?" Garrus asked as he processed the information.

" He is not exactly at the top of that list."

Garrus nodded and the left Tarquin alone. That was one dark speculation, but he did not rule it out. They had been stuck on this planet for sometime and even before they were captured had communication been an on and off situation.  
When it was time for food he tried to ask the warden about any news from the frontline but did not even receive as much as a glare from the human. He tried to ask one of the guards watching over them but nothing. The translator picked up nothing, not even an insult or grunt. Had they been ordered to ignore them or did they simply not understand. Two days went without any interruption and the scent had left. He tried to get in contact with someone on his omni-tool but no success. Tarquin kept his distance, while Sidonis walked around and the other turian was still a strange. The third day did he pick up the spicy scent in the wind and the female returned. The guards saluted as last time. He unconsciously moved away from his comrades when Shepard's eyes met with his. She walked up to him and said something; she arched an eyebrow, as she received no answer.

"We are going to move you guys to my ship for transportation to the trading point. Get ready we are leaving soon and I mean soon. Just need to move some things to the ship."

The translator was still falling behind. When the words reached him he nodded and she left again.

"What did the human say this time?" He heard how Sidoni's subvocals dripped with curiosity and a bit worry. Tarquin joined them also wanting to know what the situation was

" Apparently we are going to be moved to her ship. So they can transport us to the trading point. She told us to get ready. "

A silence fell over the group, could it really be this simple? Were the humans really going to just hand them over? There were rumours of humans enjoying backstabbing even their own kin.

" I don't think we can relax just yet."

Garrus turned around, the turian with dark plates walked up to them with very nonchalantly steps.

" I have not introduced myself yet, I'm Scion Luccensis, never really got a chance to hang with you guys being a infiltrator and stuff."

Sidonis and Tarquin simply nodded at his introduction. There was hardly any time to get to know everyone during a war and being on a new planet while being pushed back and hunted did not really help. But Garrus did strike it as odd that he had never noticed him before, with the unusual colour and all. They all started to pack what little they had, it really was not much only the pieces of their armours they had taken off for cleaning or comfort.

They finished long before the female named Shepard returned so they end up waiting. When she returned she did so together with two humans, another female and one male. Garrus started to walk towards them but stopped as the other human female reached for her gun. In the blink of the eyes were everyone battle ready, the guards aimed their gun and the turians only armed with their talons and teeth assumed battle stance.

Shepard waved her hands in the air and said something that the translator was unable to pick up. The guns were lowered and she walked up closer to them, alone.

" Sorry about that, some of my teammates are a bit… paranoid and that seems to rub off on everyone. Ready to Leave?"

This time she did not only speak only to him but to everyone. Her voice was steady and very matter-of-fact like. Scion was the first one to start walking, Garrus delayed until he was the last one. Shepard walked behind him while the male and female she had arrived with walked in front of the group. He looked around for new threats or any sign of foul play; he did not feel comfortable with turning his back on the human commander.


	3. The Elevator

His mandibles twitched a bit as he saw the human ship, it was big and not at all like he had expected it to be. The inside of the vessel was even more impressive and not at all as far behind in technology as he had thought.

" Hey, these pyjaks **do** know how to build a ship."

Garrus gave Scion a hard glare; he hoped that the human commander's translator had not picked up the insult.

The commander kept on walking without turning around, either she had hear it and ignored it or she had not.

He had expected them to be transported in secret but they were walking out in open for everyone to stare at. The commander had even given them a small tour of her ship; they were currently up on deck 2 and had just visited the pilot.

He noticed how some saluted the commander with wide smiles while others came up to her and greeted her as if they were family. She was even swept away by another female human with short orange fringe but returned after having a short chat with her. The commander had taken of her helmet and let loose her own dark fringe. In fact it was as if she had dropped her guard totally when they entered the ship. If it kept on going it would be easy for him and the other to overpower her and use her as hostage if needed.

He received a suspicious glare from an older human male with close to none fringe standing next to the CIC, it was as if the man had read his thoughts.

As they proceeded to the elevator he noticed that even if the commander was relaxed around them the other humans were not, they watched over her.

He assumed that they probably were ready to throw themselves over him and the rest if needed, especially the human male and female that escorted them together with Shepard.

All seven of them went into the elevator at the same time; the commander stopped and stared at the panel.

" So where should we keep you? The crew's quarters might be too crowded for you guys…. What about the cargo area? We will of course move in beds for you guys. "

Garrus wondered why she even asked as she pushed the panel and the elevator started to move in a slow pace. Shepard took the opportunity to adjust her armour and bent down trying to fix a latch on her boot as they waited for the elevator to make it ways down.

" Nice view." Scion's voice came as a low purr in his subvocals.

Garrus felt like he wanted to slap the black plated turian, he settled with giving him a warning with his own subvocals. This certainty was not the right time and it was a human.

The human male had apparently picked up more than they thought as he changed his standing so he now blocked their view. The commander straightened up without noticing anything.

He thanked the spirits that Sidonis and Tarquin kept themselves under control. They stepped out from the elevator after what felt like an eternity. The cargo area was pretty big with no windows.

" So … beds will come later… Oh yeah forgot to introduce you guys."

The commander hooked arms with the two other humans. As Garrus translator worked, he noticed that it was a bit faster now.

" This is Ashley and Kaidan, we have worked together for a long time. And I'm commander Shepard as you know. "

Garrus noticed how she avoided giving away her comrade's ranks and family names, perhaps as protection. Shepard tilted her head and he realised that she expected an introduction, strange as she probably already knew them from papers.

" Scion, Sidonis and Tarquin. I'm Garrus. "

He simply said and pointed at them. She nodded and looked at them when the words reached her. More humans entered the room carrying beds for them. They quickly ensemble the beds and left; Kaidan and Ashley left with them. He expected the commander to leave to but she lingered.

" So Garrus, do only you have a translator? "

" No we all have, but his is better. Probably after all the calibrations he has done." It was Sidonis who answered first.

Shepard jumped a bit in surprise as the other turian spoke, she looked towards Garrus and he nodded to confirm that it was true.

" Okay good to know. Only a few humans has a translator so far, but we are working on providing everyone with one."

That explained the guards back on the planet. Smart tactic to use guards with no translators, can't get taunted by something you don't understand. Garrus wondered if Kaidan was one of the few who had one. A ping rang through the air and a human male voice that belonged to the pilot spoke over the radio.

" Commander you are needed on the deck, incoming call. "

Shepard nodded she excused herself and left the room. He expected her to lock the door but it remained open to his surprise and there were no guards.

" Either they are foolish or this is a statement that they see us as no threat" Tarquin said bitterly and stared at the open door.

Garrus hinted annoyance in Tarquin voice, perhaps the act trampled on his pride.

" Well why would they. We are supposed to be traded for their comrades. " Said Scion as he walked over to one of the beds and lay down.

Sidonis humorously suggested that they should hijack the ship and return as heroes, but stopped as he got an annoyed glare from Tarquin.

Garrus on the other hand did not push the idea aside. He still did not fully trust the humans so if worst came to worst and he always expected the worst; they would have to take over the ship or at least an escape pod. But for now there was something else that needed his immediately attention, there was no bathroom.


	4. A Bucket of Problems

How many hours had it been… or was it only minutes? Time was hard to grasp in a room with no windows, not that the dark space would had helped.

Scion was lying on his bed while Sidonis and Tarquin talked about something.

The commander had not returned and Garrus was not sure she would, the door was still unlocked with no guards but they had not attempted to leave the room.

He adjusted his armour for the tenth time trying to focus on anything else than the lack of a bathroom.

" Just use the bucket I found or something, you are starting to get on my nerves."

Scion said with closed eyes and waved at a bucket from his bed.

" What, and risk that a human walks in and get to see the goods for free? They can't handle it."

The comment earned a small snort from Sidonis, Tarquin cleared his throat and Scion laughed. Garrus himself held back a small smirk when the door opened up, the human male named Kaidan entered the room with an expression Garrus guessed was discomfort.

The room fell silent as the human looked around but avoided eye contact.

" The commander sent me to make it clear that you are free to move around in the ship."

Garrus nodded in acknowledgement not knowing if the male was equipped with a translator or not.

Kaidan was just about to leave when he stopped and turned around, he locked eyes with Scion who had gotten up from the bed. They glared at each other for a moment, neither of them wanting to look away first. The human was the first to avert his eyes.

" But make no mistake, we will be watching you."

Then he left without looking back again, Garrus felt like sighing, Scion action in the elevator had probably just earned them an extra vigilant guard. Scion on the other hand seemed to not be disturbed by it and casually strolled out from the room. Sidonis and Tarquin choose to stay for the moment.

Garrus himself felt rather uncomfortable on the thought of walking around without a firearm on a human ship. There might be one less turian in the room, but he still would prefer to not use a bucket, it was simply not sanitary.

There was no sign of Scion or Kaidan when he left the room, he made his way to the elevator and noticed that it was on its way up.

As he waited on the elevator to return he realised that he did not know where the bathrooms were located, but came to the conclusion that they must be on the same deck as the crew's quarters. When the elevator finally returned another obstacle emerged, his translator did not translate the text.

He looked at the screen with names of the different floors and sighed, there was no way he could be able to read the weird symbols on his own. He ended up pressing randomly and hoped it would not send him to an off limit area with turian torture devices or something, but it probably would; if not worse.

No one entered the elevator as it continued to rise until it stopped. He felt nervous not knowing what to expect when the doors opened. When the door opened it lead him to a small corridor. There was only one single door there and it was unlocked so he entered.

He had ended up in a pretty spacious room, music was playing in the background and a huge empty aquarium filled one of the walls and there on the bed sat the human commander.

He swore to himself and tried to leave as quickly as possible hoping that she had not noticed him.

" One moment, I just have to … oh … what are you doing here?"

He froze on the spot, for a moment only the buzzing from his working translator filled the room. Before he could answer did a voice from a speaker fill the room.

" Commander, are you okay? Why is a turian in your room?"

He recognised the voice as the pilot's, of course cameras and sensors would monitor their movements.

" Joker, are you spying on me again?" The commander asked as she stood up and looked around.

" No ma'am….. okay perhaps a bit but only because EDI picked up a turian life sign moving towards you."

The commander laughed and ensured the pilot that there was no problem. Garrus could not help but to wonder if she was purely confidant or naïve, perhaps both. He was bigger and had sharper teeth and talons so he could easily overpower her without a gun.

When she had finished talking to her pilot she turned her attention to him. He then realised that she did not even have armour on, the human female looked even smaller without it.

" So big guy, is there anything you want to ask?"

The question took him by surprise, he had half expected her too shoo him away, was she always so …. familiar with others?

"Bathroom? " he blurred out when he saw her rising an eyebrow in waiting. Her eyes widened by surprise. He wanted to hit himself, what a stupid thing to say, he should had just excused himself and kept on searching.

Instead of dismissing him she simply pointed towards a door in the room.

" Sorry, I forgot that the cargo hold had none. The public bathroom is on deck 3, together with crew's quarters, life support control, the mess hall and the medical bay. But you can borrow mine this time. "

Garrus looked at the bathroom door and back at the commander, stunned by the offer. He mouth plates clicked shut when he realised they were open.

" Thanks, but I will just take my leave to deck 3." He hastily said and turned around, if he had been able to wait for this long he dammed well could wait a bit longer.

Garrus thanked the spirits that the elevator still was on the same deck so he could get on it fast.

He promised himself to not tell the others what had happened; he could already hear Scion and Sidonis make fun of the situation. He counted the buttons from top to down and pressed on the third one. Just as the doors was about to close a hand stopped them and the commander stood in front of him with a smile.

" Forgot to tell you men's restroom is on the port side, and the women's is on the starboard."

He thanked her as she walked back towards her room, the door closed and the elevator started to move.

Thankfully the bathroom visit went smoothly and he did not bump into any other human. When he was done he quickly returned back to the cargo hold. Scion was back too and next to his bed stood something that looked like a box of ration bars.

Garrus sat down on his bed and started to work on his translator, Sidonis and Tarquin were chewing on ration bars and speculated about what kind of prisoner they were traded for.

"A guy in the mess hall gave me these, Catch." Said Scion and threw a ration bar towards him.

Garrus caught one and dodged another that end up landing in the same bucket that would have ended up as a toilet.


	5. Omega

"Omega? What do you mean, are you sure that it's the place?"

His mandibles flared in surprise, the commander had just revealed that they were close to the arranged trading location.  
His translator must have glitch for she had said that Omega was the place.  
The other were equal surprised, that station was not really known for following the laws and it just made no sense.

" Yes, we have been told that the turian wish to do the trading there."

He noticed how Shepard studied them as his translator clicked, probably trying to read their expressions.

" I take it that this was not expected. Care to explain why. "

She must have noticed their surprise, he was not quite sure what to answer, heck he himself could not claim to know how and what the Hierarchy sometimes thought. There was probably an explanation to use Omega as a trading location.  
He shook his head and got a long stare from the human commander but she did not ask anymore about it.  
When she left, he realise that he had been tense during their short conversation.  
Scion gave him a mischievous look, that sneaky infiltrator had probably noticed that he was more nervous around the commander than before. Garrus hoped that he did not know what had happened in the commander's cabin.

Scion unlike the other had been roaming the ship as much as he could. He would vanish and then return with stories about the humans.  
Sidonis and Tarquin had almost never left the room and Garrus were never in a hurry to leave after his last adventure.  
But he decided to take a walk, it was an impressive ship and it would probably not hurt to look around one last time. Scion must have had the same thought for he had already left. Garrus visited the impressive drive core and the ship's guns. They were both impressive but some calibration would have been good for them.  
When Garrus entered CIC he found the black played turian on talking to the human commander, perhaps a bit too friendly and too close.  
He noticed how the male named Kaidan gave them long annoyed stares from a corner, the other humans worked and occasionally glanced at their commander. To his surprise he found irritation grow in him too as Scion reached out and touched the black fringe on Shepard's head. He was also curious about the texture and feeling of the human's strange fringe. Especially Shepard's, it was black like the void but with a shine as polished metal. He found himself thinking that the way it fell around her face was appealing.  
Everything about her was different, not only by turian standard but also compared to the other humans too.  
He felt a small growl in his chest as Scion leaned in even closer. He was probably breathing in that scent she carried.  
Luckily for Scion did Kaidan walk over to them and positioning him between them, before Garrus took action to separate Scion and Shepard. Garrus noticed how Scion made an annoyed expression before he simply walked away. Shepard gave Kaidan a light slap on the shoulder and said something but they were out of the translators reach so he did not know what.  
Scion perked up as he noticed Garrus and walked over to him.

" Eyeing the commander one last time? It's a pity that you don't have enough guts to do more than stare. "

Garrus almost rolled his eyes, he had been to the commander's own room alone and had survived, so he had plenty of guts. Not that he was going to tell Scion that.  
Scion frowned and left when he got no reaction.  
Suddenly the commander stood in front of him instead. She had her usual smile and made sure to look him in the eyes.

" Happy to be home soon, big guy?"

He nodded as the words got translated. He did not exactly miss his home but it would be nice to get back on known territory.

" Well I hope you guys have at least had a nice trip with Normandy "

Again he nodded without any verbal answer. He noticed how she arched her eyebrow, probably over the lack of words from his side.

" Well the view has be great " Garrus blurred out and forced his stare to not falter.

"It's almost impossible to get tired of space and ships, right? And Normandy is a very pretty ship. "

The commander said with a bid smile on her lips. No subvocals were needed to understand that she was very proud over the ship. Someone called for her attention and she left him with a quick excuse and still smiling.  
He let his eyes linger and found himself watch the sway of her hips.

" She is fine for being a human right, too bad we won't get a test run. " Scion said from behind him.

Garrus found that he inched away from the other turian. He also noticed that the human Kaidan was glaring at them with something that looked like anger and disgust.  
Kaidan walked over to Shepard saying something that the translator did not pick up. She laughed and waved her hand at him.

" We will soon arrive at Omega, so start preparing folks. And commander please don't blow up the place before the rest of us have a chance to see it."

He saw how she shook her fist towards the camera and pretended to be angry as she said something that gained a laugh from the pilot and a smile from Kaidan.  
Kaidan came walking towards them and ordered them to stay as he fetched the others.

Soon were they all gathered and stood waiting up on CIC deck. Tarquin looked graver than ever and Sidonis seemed to need a long night sleep. Garrus himself had to tackle with his thoughts and instincts. He were still a bit surprised over the chosen location, was it a procedure to try to hide the trade or something else?  
Scion was still eyeing the commander without hesitation. He pretended to bump into her, earning an annoyed glare from both Kaidan and Garrus. The commander herself took it well and laughed it off.

The ship docked and they left without a second look back on it and its people.  
Kaidan and Shepard gasped at the view that spread out before their eyes. Garrus were not sure what kind of gasp it was but he could hardly think it was a good one.  
Omega was still a dirty backwater station, the poor lay dying on the street, some spots were cleaner than other and there stood guards. The smell always hard to describe, metal and fuel mixed with organic matter, burned in his nose. Dirt caked the streets and the walls on some places.  
A turian with no facial marking walked towards them. He waved and told them to follow him to the location.  
The warning bells in his head were ringing alarmingly loud. Why would they send a barefaced turian to meet them and why where only the commander and Kaidan escorting them? They passed by mean looking mercenaries and went down the stairs to the lower wards. If he had a weapon he would had reached for it by now.  
The barefaced turian lead them into an apartment and told the commander to follow him. Another one entered and stood guard over them.  
Garrus watched as she vanished behind a dirty thick door.

A loud bang rang through the air and Kaidan reached for his gun but received a heavy blow to the head from behind.  
Garrus rushed towards the door when something slammed against it and he heard the human commander's voice twist into a scream.  
The barefaced turian grabbed him and held him back. Then it went silence; the door opened up and revealed a grey turian leaning over an unconscious human. Garrus eyes widened when he recognised him as Saren Arterius and then everything went black.


	6. The Fools

Quick A/N: Thanks for reading this little story, I hope you like it. I just wanted to say something before this chapter. This is a Mass Effect AU that take place during the first contact war. I know that before that war the humans had yet to meet aliens, but as this is an AU there somethings plays out differently. So I just wanted to warn the lore heavy fans for future chapters.

* * *

Garrus scrambled to his feet, how long had he been out?  
He looked around; the room was small and sparsely furnished with only one table, a chair and a cot. He rubbed the back of his head and felt a swollen spot right below the crest. Garrus growled low, trying to figure out what had just happened. Why was Arterius here; was he and his brother not supposed to be posted somewhere else?  
Just as he noticed that he was alone in the room did the door swing open and a barefaced armed turian greeted him. The other turian signalled him to follow and gave him a stern glare. Garrus walked up to him ready to follow behind the truian but was shoved by the bareface.

" Walk two steps in front of me and don't try anything, do you understand? "

Garrus received a hard shove by the rifle butt before he was able to answer and was practically herded down a narrow hallway by the other turian. As they passed by a window he noticed that he was no longer in the lower wards.  
They entered a room much bigger than the one he had been in. Saren was sitting on a throne like chair in the centre of the room. He noticed that Scion,Sidonis and Tarquin already were present in the room, they all had a guard standing behind them.

" Aah Vakarian. Good, now when we are all gathered I assume you want some answers. Our .. first introduction did not go as planned. "

The grey played turian stood up as he spoke to them and walked towards them. If Garrus had not known better he would have almost thought that the older turian was about to give them a 'welcome back hug'.

" So, hitting someone from behind is not your way of saying hello?" Garrus commented, the comment sounded drier than he had intended to.

Tarquin flinched, probably afraid of that the comment would have angered the older turian. Garrus noticed how his barefaced guard gripped his rifle harder as he waited for an order that never came.

"I can understand why you think it was one of us that hit you but I can assure you that it was not. Your friends can vouch for me. And I apologize for my guards rough manners; some of them are a bit on the edge. "

Garrus was still not completely satisfied; there was something in his guts that said something wrong with this whole situation.

" What happened to the trade?" Garrus asked.

The question hanged in the air for some seconds before Scion activated his omni-tool. He linked everyone's omni-tool together and sent over a video file.  
Garrus felt how his eyes widened as he watched the short video.  
He saw how he got hit from behind but not by a barefaced turian as he had thought, but by a human. Soon after did a small group of humans storm into the room with their guns firing. Sidonis and Tarquin dragged his body away while Saren and his men gave cover by fairing their weapons.  
Then the video ended.

" There never was a trade, the humans planed on disposing us here and blame it on some random merc gang. Arterius and his men were sent here to save us. Have you never wondered why we always received the news from the humans and never heard any voice message of some sort from the hierarchy? "

Scion's words echoed in Garrus's head, his mouth was suddenly dry. But how was that possible? It just did not make sense.

" But how did they know about Omega? I thought they were new to space travel."

" That is the strange part, we think there might be someone helping them. That's why we kept the human commander, for interrogation. "

Saren had a very matter of fact voice but Garrus thought he sensed a low growl when the grey turian mentioned the human. He himself could not help but to feel a sinking feeling in his chest at the thought of Shepard going through interrogation.  
He pushed away the feeling, he should not feel sorry for her. If what he had just been told were true and by the video it seemed so.

" I think that is enough for today. There is time to rest until we leave Omega, it will probably take a day to prepare. Refrain from leaving the building, the humans are certainly searching for us." And with that did Saren leave the room as his barefaced guards saluted him.

Tarquin muttered something about how humans really could not be trusted and Sidonis re-watched the video in silence on his omni-tool.  
Garrus was battling with his thoughts when Scion walked up to him, the black turian did not seem faced by the new information.

" I guess it's true, lookers are the most dangerous once. I bet a good turian like you are happy that all you did was stare. Me on the other hand like danger."

Garrus groaned, he was not in the mood to put up with Scion's comments. Why had he blindly trusted the human commander's words? She must have taken them for fools as they had easily fallen into the trap. He excused himself and was about to retreat back to the small room when Tarquin approached them.

"Vakarian, Luccensis. I know you both took interest in the human. Don't even think about doing something irrational."

Garrus waved away the comment and left the room, he heard Scion joking about busting her out as he passed the doorway.  
The barefaced turian that had guarded him did not follow as he had expected.

The hallway felt longer then before as he walked in silence with his thought.

He remembered how he had even doubted his own people and not her words when she had mentioned Omega. He had really been fooled by her innocent act on the ship; she had lulled him into a false sense of security. His head felt heavy and annoyance was gnawing in him when he reached his room.

He decided that the best thing to do for now was to forget the human. But as he lay down in an attempt to relax did a weak scent reach his nose, her scent.


	7. Welcome Aboard

A/N: Sorry for the slow update, college are pretty much eating up my free time and creativity...

* * *

He must have somehow managed to fall asleep as he was awoken by a hard knock on the door. Garrus rose up as fast as he could and felt stiffness in his neck, the door opened up before he reached it.

Tarquin stood in the doorway together with a barefaced turian.

" It is time to move, the ship is ready."

Garrus nodded and adjusted his armour before he stepped out from the room; he and Tarquin walked behind the barefaced turian and met up with the rest. He could not help but to look for the human commander but found that she was not there. She was probably being transported separately to avoid attention. They left the building with Saren in the lead, it went smoothly and none of the mercs disturbed them.

A group of five turian guards were already at the dock loading on a white box on to a ship that he assumed was Saren's. Saren's ship appeared to be a bit smaller than Shepard's and was painted in shades of black and dark grey, but its guns were nothing to sneer noticed that the white box was the only thing that was loaded onto the ship and there still was no sight of the human commander as the neared the ship entrance.

" I see they are putting her flexibility to the test." Scion whispered and gave a small nod toward the box.

Garrus mandibles twitched when he realised the meaning behind the comment. He discreetly did a distance scan of the box with his omni-tool and frowned when he saw something that looked like a human shape in it.

He lost the sight of the box as they entered the ship, he had promised himself to forget the human, after all she had tried to kill them but there was something that kept on gnawing in him. Saren and two guards left the group as they reached the main deck; Garrus saw in the corner of his eye how they headed towards the lower decks. One of Saren's remaining guards briefed them quickly about the plan; they were going to stop at The Citadel before they headed to Palavan. It was also expected of them to prepare a report about the foul play and their experience on the human ship.

Garrus only listened with half an ear at the instructions; he eyed the ship's interior and took mental notes. He liked to be prepared for worst-case scenario and that means knowing where to go and how when needed. As they were lead to the crew quarters he noticed that the ship seemed oddly undermanned. Surely there was no lack of truians that would like to serve aboard the same ship as Arterius. The group split up as the reached the crew quarters, Tarquin typed away on his omni-tool working on his report, Sidonis left to clean up while Scion went to the mess himself decided to look for the combat simulation room, feeling the need of a good distraction.

The combat simulation room was completely empty when he reached it. There was something about the lack of crew members that bugged him. He had only met two turians on the walked over to the weapon locker and was just about to fasten an assault rifle on his back together with a sniper rifle when Saren entered the room.

" Aaaah Vakarian. Here for some light exercise; good. Mind if I join you." His words sounded more like a statement than a question.

Garrus gave the older turian a nod of approval, feeling that it would be unwise to say no.

He watched as Saren picked up another assault rifle and eyed it before he walked to the control panel. The room change in the blink of an eye and they found themselves standing in a wasteland with big ruins.

" I hope you don't mind, the enemies are of course humans." Saren said as he headed towards cover not waiting for an answer.

Garrus decided to start with the sniper and positioned himself a bit behind Saren's cover. A signal sounded and his ears were flooded with the sound of gunfire and human voices. He did his best to focus on sniping while also keeping an eye on his teammate.

There was something cold yet elegant about the way Saren gunned down the enemies, no hesitations, no second glance and no unnecessary movement. He shot everything that moved be it a high ranked enemy general to just a foot soldier. Garrus himself chose to spare the humans that threw away their weapons in a gesture of surrender.

" Don't hesitate Vakarian, humans plays tricks and lack honour. Remember, the human commander was about to execute you in a back alley of Omega." Saren called out bitterly as he shot the unarmed human Garrus just had spared between the eyes.

Garrus got a sour taste in his mouth; he remembered his encounters with the humans on the battlefields. His comrades lying on the ground bleeding out while calling for help only to be silenced by enemy gunfire. There was truth in Saren's words, he could not remember seeing any humans show mercy even once. Was Shepard like that too?

He realised that he had never seen her fight, or at least not been able to distinguish her from the other until that day he was captured. Her present had always been a scent that swept down when the victory slipped away. His thoughts were interrupted by the signal marking the end the simulation. The scores flashed by and he groaned inside, it was ridicules low and his accuracy was so bad that he would had been dead long ago if it had been a real battle. He half expected to get a lecture for his bad performance but Saren simply put back his weapons and completely ignored the scores.

" The human commander in our custody refuses to speak. So far we have got nothing from her except her name and rank. If this keep up then we will have to …. change tactics." Saren dragged out the last words as he turned around to face Garrus.

Garrus tensed a bit when he felt the other turian's eyes on him, he did his best to keep his facial expression straight.

" Why are you telling me this?" He asked carefully keeping his voice as steady as he possible and his subvocal on the same level.

" I have heard that you and Scion spent the most time with the human. Of course it was solely to spy on her, I don't doubt your loyalty. But perhaps you two can get her to talk. It's up to you how… just don't kill her. She is still useful and don't let her innocent act fool you. She is kept in a room at the cargo bay. " Saren answered flatly and left without waiting for any confirmation from Garrus, leaving him with a twisting feeling in his stomach.

Garrus stared into the air before he shook his head; this was a situation he had not been able to foresee. He reached up and rubbed the back of his neck feeling the stiffness return.

He had wanted to have as little as possible to do with the commander and now he was supposed to interrogate her. He considered the option to let Scion handle it, but something about the idea stirred up the feeling of annoyance in him


	8. Yellow and White

A/N: Again thanks so much for reading and I am sorry for the slow update. I will try to write faster but cant promise anything. I'm at my last college year ( graduate in next summer if everything ends well) so there is a lot to do right now.

* * *

Garrus closed his eyes as he washed his face; the water was cold enough to leave a numb feeling on his skin. His mind was no longer as stormy as it had been when he had entered the room. He had stayed in the simulation room for some hours after Saren had left, trying to sort his thoughts out.

He had decided to take part in the human's interrogation from now on; it was after all what his superior had wished for. Garrus no longer wonderer how and why Shepard had betrayed them, this was war after all. What he now pondered over was why it annoyed him and why he even took time to think about her. He decided to look for Scion when he had finished washing his face; they needed to speak about tactics and what questions to focus on. It did not take long before he found the black-scaled turian, he was sitting in the mess hall fiddling with his omni-tool. He flinched in surprise when Garrus called out for him.

" Well, well….. to what do I owe the pleasure?" He asked as he hastily closed his omni-tool and stood up.

Garrus looked around and as he had expected was the mess hall almost empty. But he still leaned a bit closer to Scion and lowered his voice as he spoke.

" Did Arterius speak to you about the human and wanting our help interrogating her?"

" There is not need for discretions, I'm pretty sure everyone already knows that Saren appointed us to help with the interrogation. " Scion answered without lowering his voice.

Garrus cleared his throat and nodded, it was probably true.

" Well how should we do this? One at the time or should we both question her at the same time? "

" Well it would be dangerous to go in all alone in case our lovely weapon less commander tries to escape. What if she attacks you with her blunt teeth and talons? She could tickle you to death with them. " Scion answered mockingly.

" So I take it you wish to go in together so you have someone to protect your soft scales. " Garrus said and laughed when he received a glare from Scion.

* * *

They headed for the cargo bay when they were done talking; it took longer than expected.

It was decided that this time Scion would stand guard while Garrus questioned the human. Garrus had decided to not take any weapons with him but Scion carried a gun on his hip. Garrus gave him a nod as the reached the room, he opened the door when Scion signalled that he was room turned out to be bigger than he had thought, but perhaps it was because it was only furnished with one table and two chairs. It was also very bright, rows of lamps on the white metallic walls basked the room in a clean and cold white light.

The human was sitting with her back against the wall; it appeared like she was sleeping.  
She had gathered her black fringe in a tail that fell down over a shoulder. Shepard was no longer clad in armour and instead dressed in black tight pants and a shirt that fitted her like a second skin.  
There were dark spots of dried blood on her clothes and he noticed that her feet were bare.

She opened her eyes as he came closer. Garrus halted as her green eyes looked around; he cleared his throat and gave her a small nod.

" Commander Shepard, I presume that you know why I am here." He said and made a gesture towards the table and chairs.

Shepard nodded and stood up and walked over to it. Her movements were stiff and lacked grace. Shepard's facial expression was tired and it seemed like her energy had vanished. She looked pretty much defeated, but then there were her eyes. Clear green met his blue in a steady gaze and he saw something in them that he recognised as determination.

" So, Vakarian…. How are you doing?" She asked as she sat down at the table.

The question was so sudden that he blinked in surprise.

" Just fine… " He answered shortly as he sat down on the other side of the table.

" Aaaah, so I got it right this time. " She laughed and traced his blue markings with her gaze.

His mandibles flickered against his chin, was she implying that they all looked the same? Did she also see them a just "spikey bird monsters" as he had heard other humans call them.

" I am just joking with you big guy, I recognise those blue eyes, stripes and that voice.

Ah before you ask the standard questions, I'm Haniel Shepard, commander and Normandy's captain. My mission was to defend and then escort." Shepard said as she leaned on her elbows and rested the head on her hands.

She was remarkably calm and did not even seem worried about the situation she was in. Garrus's head felt surprisingly empty as he tried to start the interrogation. He and Scion had worked out some questions and tactics but now it felt like he was the one about to be interrogated.

" Who told you about Omega, who staged the ambush there and why?" He asked with a stern voice and tried to look a bit more threatening.

Shepard let out a small sigh and leaned back on her chair as she waited for the translator to do its work.

" As I said before, we got the location from the turians and I don't know who or why. I went black pretty much as fast as I walked through the door and then I woke up here…. How did I even get here, and what happened to Kaidan? " Her voice assumed a higher pitch and speeded up at the end of her sentence.

Garrus narrowed his eyes as her words were translated.

" We both know that is not the truth, there never was a trade only a plan to dispose of us, right? Kaidan and the others most likely retreated back when the ambush failed, leaving you behind. " He answered and tapped at the table with his talons.

"There was a trade agreement and if someone broke it then it was your people. If you are keeping Kaidan in a separate room to try to get another story out from him then give up. What I am saying is the truth and Kaidan would never lie, not even to save himself. " Shepard said nonchalantly and shrugged her shoulders.

" My people unlike yours have honour and it was humans that attacked us on Omega. Only your kind would break an agreement or make one up to gun down your enemies coldblooded." His voice toned out in a growl and his mandibles twitched, a talon scratched the blank table surface as he spoke.

The human commander gave him a glare and it looked like she was about to growl at him. She closed her eyes and mouthed words he was unable to hear before she leaned in closer.

" And what is the honour in starting war, huh? Remember it was your people that suddenly attacked us. We did not even receive as much as a ping before you fired." She said and almost hissed at the end as she leaned back again.

Garrus almost flinched at her words. They had taken direct action but it had been merely a police action against a rule breaker, not a declaration of war.

" Besides, how do I not know you are just trying to make up a story about betrayal to fuel the war and make the humans look bad?"

Just as Garrus was about to say something the door opened up and Scion walked in.

"What? I got bored and you two seem to have it so cosy in here." The darker turian said with a sly smile and ignored the irritated glare Garrus gave him.

He positioned himself on Shepard's right side and leaned on the table and gave her a wink. Garrus clutched his left hand under the table without realising it but relaxed when he noticed a dull feeling in it.

" But the lady has a point, why not show her the lovely vid? I don't think they have done it yet and I am sure it will jog her memory. "

Scion opened up the video file on his omni-tool and started the video when Garrus nodded at him. Garrus closely observed the commander as she watched the video. She raised her eyebrows as the humans on the video rushed in.

" Wait. Can you freeze the video and zoom in on the chest, on that yellow and white spot?" She asked and pointed on one of the armoured humans in the video.

Scion did as she had asked and enhanced the picture; a yellow and white emblem emerged.

"Tha… that's Cerberus …..but why " She stuttered and pointed at the emblem.

" So you do admit that you know these humans?" Scion asked and observed the emblem.

" Know? Not….. really. Have only heard about them….. They are said to have vast connections and be interested in advancing the human race. There are myths about them and an area labelled 5…." Shepard stopped herself from finishing.

Garrus noticed how she bit her lower lip and how her body tensed. It seemed like she was not telling them everything she knew.

" And that is why we need more information human. " Saren said with a bitter tone as he entered the room together with two guards.


	9. Commander Shepard?

... yeah it took longer than expected. Sorry for the lack of update, school has been keeping me busy. I am both surprised and extremely happy over that there are people who reads this fanfic. So thanks a lot for taking your time to read.

* * *

Garrus and Scion had stepped aside as Arterius took over the interrogation. It was now he who sat across the table.  
The air had got stale from the lack of ventilation but it did not seem to bother either the human or the hooded turian. He kept pushing the same questions about Cerberus again and again and she repeated her one word answer. They had been bickering back and forth for so long that Garrus had lost the sense of time.

" Confidential." Shepard answered yet again with a flat voice and earned an angry glare from Saren's guards.

The hooded turian growled but kept his calm expression as he folded his hands. There was a quiet moment, before Saren leaned his head against his hands.

" Fine, let us switch question for the time being. So commander Shepard, who are you really?" Saren asked with an almost tired voice.

" C.o.m.m.a.n.d.e.r S.h.e.p.a.r.d " she spelled out slowly as if she was talking to a child and gave Saren an uninterested look.

" I am only going to ask nicely one more time soldier. Who are you? " Saren asked and held back his subvocals as the human adjusted her position leaning backwards in the chair.

Garrus looked at Saren, what did he mean? He glanced over at Scion to see his reaction but Scion was absently fiddling with his omni-tool and did not even bother to look up.

"Either your hearing or memory is lacking, or you are just plain dumb. I A…! "

The word was cut off as Saren's hand latched out and grabbed her by the hair. Shepard let out a surprised gasp right before her head was slammed against the table.  
Garrus barely managed to stop himself from wincing at the sound of the impact.  
Her head was forced to stay still against the table by Saren's clawed hand when she tried to move, a small pool of blood started to form on the surface.

Garrus's stomach turned at the scent of metallic human blood mixed with the now warm and stale air.  
Saren raised his arm and slowly pulled her head up by the hair, forcing her to sit on the edge of the chair. Green eyes was glaring in defiance behind straws of black fringe.  
Her hand reached up to her nose and she felt relieved, as it seemed that the bone was not broken, it was probably only a crack. But it was enough for it to bleed and she could feel it pulsating as it started to swell.

" I have tried to be nice, but if you want to do it the hard way sure. I will ask again and if you don't answer, expect more pain. Now, who are you? " He hissed out and tightened his grip. His subvocal dripped of satisfaction from hurting her.

The corner of her lips twitched as she held back a grimace but she gave him a defiant stare.

" I am Commander Shepard, you **stupid** bird." She said between her teeth and then spat at him a mix of saliva and blood.

Before she even had time to blink was she hurled across the room and slammed hard against the wall. The air left her for a moment and she coughed trying to find her breathing rhythm. A foot connected with her chest and pinned her against the wall.

"I have met commander Shepard. Taller, with brown short fringe, blue eyes and… male." He dragged out the last word and put pressure on his foot keeping the human still and from getting up.

Garrus hands tensed as the new information reached him. So even her name had been a lie. He should not feel so let down, she was an enemy and it should have been expected, but he still felt a bit betrayed. He noticed how her eyes widened in what he suspected was a surprised look. But it was quickly replaced by something else, anger he assumed.

" I am Commander Shepard. Just look at my dog tags and the other stuff you took." She said flatly, ignoring the increasing pressure on her chest.

"If so then you should be dead, floating around in space."

Shepard eyes widened and she tried to stand up but in vain, her movement were clumsy. Her whole body radiated distress and her eyes looked frightened. Garrus noticed the change in the human and felt how his superior relished in the moment. He recognised a grin on his superior's face as Saren stepped away and walked toward the door.

" WAIT! What do you mean!? **GET BACK HERE**!" She screamed in panic and forced herself to stand up.

Saren's guards blocked her way as she tried to reach him. She struggled to get past them but one of the shoved her back down on the floor.

" Be a nice human and I might reveal something more." Saren said with his subvocals purring as he exited the room without looking back.

Shepard did not bother to stand up and wiped away some blood with the back of her hand. She felt like a wounded dog licking her wounds but did not bother to put up a front; her mind was full of thoughts buzzing around like bees.

Scion and the guards left the room, leaving Garrus behind. He looked at her; she looked like a beaten varren. The swelling on her nose stood out and had started to change colour. Chin and cheek was smeared with blood. He would have felt sorry for her if it were not for all that had happened. He was just about to leave when he heard something that made him freeze on the spot, a small sob.


	10. The Secret

Happy new year ! (soon?)

hahaha... i forgot i had this small chapter in my phone. Again thanks for reading this story and for putting up with the slow update ^^''.

* * *

He had managed to leave the room without looking back, even thought something inside of him had wanted to linger. He took a moment to get his feelings under control as he left the cargo area behind him. Saren had vanished, probably to his quarters and Scion was gone too. Garrus decided to call it a day and head to bed.  
When he got to the crew quarters was only Sidonis there, sleeping in one of the bunker beds.  
Garrus climbed up and lay down, sleep eluded him and all he could think of was that small sob.  
What had happened? He remembers that her attitude had changed when she was told about the commander's death. Was she desperate over the fact that her cover was blown or was it something else? An image of her face bloodied and with a swollen nose flashed before his eyes.  
He was sure that she had been through worse and he certainty had seen worse; yet he grimaced at the memory of her head banging against the table.  
Was she going to heal? There was something about the wounded look that made him feel uncomfortable. He shook his head, why did he even care? He had not lifted even a mandible to stop it when it had happened and she was an enemy.

He closed his eyes hard and tried to find sleep but nothing. The bed creaked as he tried to find a comfortable position but nothing felt right. Just as he thought he had found a comfortable position it felt like a small stab in his guts and the sound of the human's pain echoed in his ears.  
Garrus sighed as he sat up and started to climb down from his bed. He went over to a locker and dug around until he found a medi-gel.

" Where are you going." Garrus looked up and saw Tarquin's eyes fixed on him.

He must have been so deep in thoughts that he had missed that Tarquin had entered the room. He felt as a kid caught with his hand in a snack box as he closed the locker slowly and he straightened up. Garrus swept his eyes over the room fast and noticed that the black plated turian had yet not went to bed.

" I'm going to look for Luccensis, have something I need to give him." Garrus said, carefully keeping his subvocals neutral as he quickly put the medi-gel package in his pocket.

Tarquin gave Garrus a look that told him that he was not fooling anyone. But instead of saying anything the other turian lay down on one of the beds.  
Garrus exited the crew quarters as fast yet as casual as he could.  
When he was in the hallway he watched and listened to be sure to not run into someone else as he walked toward cargo bay.

He found that sneaking around on the ship was strangely exciting, like when he and his friends in the military academy had sneaked out during curfew to meet up with others.

When Garrus reached Shepard's room was he in a strangely good mode. He was just about to open the door when he heard a voice.

" Easy there hun. I'm just here to give you something for that swelling. "

Garrus moved closer as he recognised Scion's voice. For a moment he thought about entering but settled for staying outside. It seemed like he tried to hold a conversation with the human.

" I know it was a rough day, but I'm here to help. Now, won't you relax and let me 'work some magic' as you humans put it. "

"What….you….go….."

Garrus swore under his breath, the human spoke with a too quiet voice for the translator to pick up everything. He was thankful over that he had at least wired it to his earpiece so that Scion did not hear it.

"If you won't let me put it on then do it by yourself. It won't kill you… I think."  
Scion continued and the sound of something hitting the floor followed.

" I want to be on your side. But I can't help you if you wont let me. "

Scion's words surprised Garrus and he inched closer to the door, he almost fell when it opened up.

" Say is it fitting for a good turian boy to sneak around and eavesdrop on other?" Scion said and let out amused subvocals as he helped Garrus to find the balance again.

Garrus grunted and straightened up quickly.

" I … I aaa… was only about check in on the prisoner. " He coughed and tried to enter the room but was stopped by Scion.

" No worry, I have already provided her with some medi-gel and water. She needs to rest now … for as long as she can. " Scion said and blocked the way with his arm.

Garrus managed to sneak a glance at the human. She sat in a corned with her head leaning against her knees. Her black fringe fell down and hide her face. A flask of water and a pack of medi-gel were lying next to her.  
He nodded and moved so Scion could leave the room.  
Just before the door closed she looked up and Garrus thought that it looked like her eyes were gleaming with determination. Was it the light playing a trick or had the human already mentally recovered?  
He shook his head, thought about how broken she had seemed after the interrogation and the small sob.

He did not mention it to Scion as they walked back to the crew quarters.

" I assume you heard my little conversation with the commander." Scion said and glanced towards Garrus.

Garrus looked around to see if they were alone and simply nodded as an answer.

" I'm sure you want to report it to Saren but …keep it a secret for now. I'm asking you nicely now but if you want me to blackmail you….. I can do that too. "

Garrus noticed the lack of amusement in Scion's subvocals and assumed that it was not a joke. For a split second did he consider to tell Scion to report himself in but something in him decided to not do it.

" How about you let me in on your little plan?" He said instead to his own surprise.

" Sorry pal, as the humans put it 'Two's company three's a crowd'. For now your silence is all I need."

Garrus studied Scion, what was his plan?

" Sure….. "

Garrus answered as they reached the crew quarters. He decided to stay quiet for now and to keep an extra watchful eye on the black scaled turian from now on.

" Good, now it's time to get rest, but stay on guard. There is something that don't feel right about this whole situation." Scion muttered the last part as he left for his bed.

Garrus agreed but did not voice it. He hoped that the next interrogation would yield more, hopefully without getting violent.  
As he climbed up to his bed and adjusted his position so he lay on his back he could not help but to think of her yet again.

Who was she really?


	11. Her Background

It was harder than he had expected to keep an eye on Scion. The black turian seemed to manage to vanish around corners or behind doors. Garrus had almost considered asking Sidonis for help but had decided to keep it to himself.

At least he had succeeded in making sure that he was present during every interrogation of the human.  
He snorted in frustration; the interrogation had swapped from physical violence to verbally. Saren had not laid a hand on her but he always taunted her by describing how he killed humans, how she was lower than a pyjak and how he knew how the real commander had died. She would respond by simply hanging her head low like abused varren with the dark fringe covering her face. He had also started to deny her sleep by keeping guards in her room to wake her up.

Garrus wanted to kick himself for feeling sorry for the human and still not stand up for her. Could he not just pick a side and stick to it, why did he have to swing back and forth?  
He scratched the back of his head a bit annoyed over that they also had not gained any new information about her. She still clung to her claim that she was commander Shepard, captain of Normandy. He had a nagging feeling that Scion probably had been able to coax more information from her.  
A small beep from his omni-tool reminded him that it was time for yet another interrogation.  
He made his way too the room as quick as he could. At first he thought he was the first one but whispering voices from the other door said otherwise.

He thought about eavesdrops but decided to just walk in, as the human's voice was too quiet for the translator.  
He was met with a pair of green eyes as he opened the door. He noticed that the human's nose were now completely healed and guessed that Scion had smuggled more medi-gel to her. Her eyes did not look as tired as they had last time so he assumed that she had managed to get some rest.  
Scion sat crouched next to her back turned against him.

" Aaaah Garrus, what happen to knock knock." Scion asked and pretended to be angry as he turned around.

" Not like Arterius would knock."

The atmosphere in the room tensed when Garrus mentioned the ship owners name. He expected to hear Scion accusing him for killing the mood, but he stood up without a word.  
The female remained sitting on the floor, she no longer looked towards him.

" You have not told anyone, right?" Scion asked in such a hushed tone that if not for his subvocals the message would had been lost.

" No, I keep my word when given." Garrus answered and felt a bit offended that the other turian thought otherwise.

He was about to voice his thoughts when Scion gestured him to be quiet.  
Surprised he complied and did not say anything and lucky that for the door opened and Saren paraded in with his guards.

" Aaaah it seems like you two started earlier, I hope I have not missed anything. " Saren said as he saw them.

" No sir, we have not got anything new from her. " Scion answered and straightened up.

" If so then I bet you will love to hear what my contact provided me with." The hooded turian mused as he clicked up a screen in his omni-tool.

Garrus saw how green eyes narrowed in what he guessed was suspicion.

" I pulled a few strings and found some interesting things. Like how this human was forced onto the Shepard family." He said with a purr as the female widened her eyes.

" What is the term again... oh yes, adopted. Or in this case picked up from the street and forced onto a family. Hannah Shepard widower, mother of John Shepard... _owner_ of Haniel Shepard formerly known as Jane Doe. " The word owner was dragged out and dropped of venom as Saren looked at the human.

Garrus winched inside over the words, it made it sound like she was worth less than a slave.

He could see that the words had affected her as he looked into her eyes, he expected sadness or guilt in her but found anger.

" The only thing that surprises me is that it seems to be true that you are a commander."

Haniel said nothing, even thought it looked like she was struggling to keep her tongue. Scion had placed a hand on her shoulder and Garrus assumed that was the only thing keeping her from lashing out.

" I wonder, how did an unwanted thing become a commander? I bet you jumped at the opportunity when the **real** commander, your _brother_ died. You must have hated him for always having it better than you. " Saren continued as he was relishing in the moment.

Her lower lip started to lose colour from her biting hard into it.

" I'm sure you were happy to finally get rid of …"

That was it for Haniel, Garrus watched how something visible snapped in her and she flung herself forward trying to land a hit on Saren. Scion and Garrus hastily restrained her, keeping her arms behind her back and her legs from kicking. He tried to convince himself that it was not for her sake but for his fellow turian.

" SHUT UP ! You know nothing about us!" She screamed and tried to get lose.

" Oooh but I do. You good for nothing, street rat that no one wanted. I know that _brother_ was a rash, bashful, ignorant and incompetent meat sack. And your dear _mother_ always favourite him while she detested you. You were always in his shadow. " Saren answered with a sickly triumphing voice and used the words brother and mother with dripping sarcasm.

Haniel let out an impressive snarl and tugged her arms in an attempt to get free.

" So why don't you make yourself useful for once in you short lifetime and tell me. What and where is Cerberus? " He said with a colder tone in his voice and leaned in closer.

Suddenly she stopped struggling; instead she gave him a blank stare. Then she did something Saren was not prepared for. She leaned her head back to gain momentum and then spat at him.

" To hell with you. " She said with a icy voice.

Garrus felt like the time was about to stop, he saw everything in slow motion. He saw how the hooded turian's mandibles tightened around the jaw in disgust and fury and how his digits twisted. Garrus suddenly found himself between him and the human.

" Sir, let us handle the punishment of the prisoner. " He heard himself say in a distant voice.

Saren straightened his posture and gave him an observing glare. Garrus expected to be denied but Saren turned around and left the room in cold silence.

* * *

A/N: The part about adoption is not my own opinion and was not intended to offend anyone. It simply fits her background/character and the story arc.


	12. Hard headed

" I'm impressed Vakarian." Scion said amused.

Garrus ignored him for the moment and stared at the door, what had he got himself into.  
He felt how the human moved behind him and he spun around. She stood her ground and waited for what would happen next when their eyes met.  
Was he really supposed to punish her? He did not want to, but his superior expected it of him now. He somehow knew that he would be unable to do it. Garrus sigh inside and guessed that this might have been him choosing a side.

Scion walked to the door and listened to make sure they were alone before he slung an arm around Garrus's shoulders.

" So buddy, are you on our side?"

Garrus cleared his throat before he shrug off the arm.

" I …. don't know…perhaps. " He said and attempted to leave the room wanting some more time to clear his thoughts. But Scion grabbed his arm and stopped him.

" Listen to me, there is something very wrong with this ship. I'm sure you have noticed it. There are close to zero crewmembers and my indicator tells me that we are not heading for Citadel anymore. " Scion said with a tense voice.

" I'm sure there are an explanation to the lack of crew and perhaps…"

The grip around Garrus arm hardened at his words.

" There are no perhaps. Saren are keeping something from us. And it seems he is strangely obsessed with Haniel. "

Garrus wondered when the black turian and the human had become close enough for him to use her first name. He felt a small sting of jealousy.

" She arranged an ambush, lied about the trade. " Garrus countered.

He heard how she puffed out air at his statement. Scion just gave him a long stare before he started to click on his omni-tool.

" I know what we have been told. But from my scanning and analysis it seems that a signal drew Cerberus to the trading location. The signal came from Saren and this ship. "

The omni-tool screen flashed with information as Scion's digits danced over it. Garrus gave the screen a long look, it seemed to fit with Scions words but that would be insane.

" Why would Arterius do that? That's illogical. What would he gain from it? "

Scion closed the screen and gestured towards the female. Haniel folded her arms and looked up at them, her translator working as fast as it could.

" We believe Saren thinks I'm working for Cerberus, why I don't know. All I know about them fits on a half slide, if not less." She said as she activated her own omni-tool.

A screen with strange human letters appeared and she screened it before swiping to the next that was empty.

" Another thing, we have both come to the conclusion that this ship has baited Cerberus with the signal. Leading them to Omega from who knows where." Haniel said and clicked up a new window.

Garrus eyes widened when other programs than the translator booted up.

" Wait did we not block every function except the translator…. Scion?" He said with an accusing tone and gave the black turian a disapproving grunt with his subvocals.

" Well, in my defence I only helped her a bit." Scion said and shrugged his shoulders.

" Either way, It seems Saren thinks Cerberus knows something they should not….. Are we really trusting him?" She asked and turned to Scion.

Garrus felt a small jab of annoyance, so she trusted the black-scaled one but not him. He pushed it aside as he remembered that his actions lately had not given her any reason to trust him. He felt how the tension grew with the silence between them.

" Hey, I'm a nice and pretty turian boy." He tried to say jokingly while gesturing towards his face in an attempt to ease the tension.

" Well I have always been told that the pretty ones or the most dangerous. " Haniel answered with a flat tone, not picking up the joke.

" Well if so, then you must be as dangerous as an army of pissed of krogans or asari commandos. "

Garrus wanted to kick himself over the comment when he saw her questioning course she had no idea what a krogan or asari was and how dangerous they could be. And why was he trying to flirt with her anyway? He heard Scion's subvocals vibrate in laughter and glared at him.

 _"_ _Not a word, pal."_ Garrus grunted with his own sobvocals.

"I vouch for him and he has already promised to not tell anyone. " Scion said when he was done laughing.

" Well I guess I will have to trust you on this then. "

Garrus noticed how she meant Scion and not him. He was half displeased and half relieved.

" So what happens now?" Garrus asked to change the subject.

" Well we need to punish her, right? I have an idea. Are you a good actress? If so we can just pretend to punish you."

Haniel looked up at Scion and flashed him a mischievous smile.

" Enough for you to hand me an Oscar…. It's a…Never mind. Yes I am."

" Do you think that you can pretend to be beaten or something?" Scion asked and flashed a grin back at her.

" Is that even going to work?" Garrus asked with scepticism in his voice.

" Well yeah probably? We can just say that we went for a psychical punishment."

Haniel chewed on her lower lip before she walked up to the wall. She looked at it for a short moment before she banged her head against it with a loud scream, surprising both Garrus and Scion with her sudden action.

" MOTHER OF…. holy…shit…That hurt" She grunted and rubbed her now red forehead. The translator hacked at her words unable to translate everything. It looked like she was going to bang her head again but Garrus stopped her.

"SPIRITS! What **are** you doing?!" He asked a bit terrified by her action.

" What? Now you have something to show if he asks about it." She answered with a restrained grin as she felt a throbbing pain.

" What if you had cracked your head open? That could have killed you. " Garrus said with a lecturing tone and looked at her like she was a child.

" Ah come on. I have a thick skull or so I have been told. And I have probably been through worse. " She said and waved away Scion when he offered her a medi-gel and took some stumbling steps.

" Well lucky you. I guess that little thing solved our problem. Just warn us next time so we don't think you are going crazy on us. " Scion said and helped her to a chair so she could sit down.

" Are we done for today?" She asked and glanced towards him.

" Ah yeah. Garrus why don't you leave first. " Scion said vaguely and opened the door for him.

Garrus felt like he was shooed out like a servant and wanted to resist but found himself exiting the room after all. But instead of leaving the cargo area he decided to at least wait for the black turian to leave the room too.


	13. My turn

Haniel put a hand on her aching forehead and closed her eyes. She felt a headache emerging.

" Why not let him in on the plan? You said you trust him. " She asked with a calculating tone.

" Well, I do trust him but not to 100%. I am still not sure if he would decide to stop us or not."

Haniel hummed at his answer and felt how tiredness washed over her. She covered her eyes with her arm and leaned back in the chair.  
She kind of regretted slamming her head, but better that than alone time with that spiny hooded turian.  
She glanced towards the door and Scion.

"It seems my friend had decided to wait for me. But perhaps that won't be much of problem. " Scion said with a shrug of his shoulders.

" Haaah, I guess not. He has borrowed my private one once, so it's only fair that he don't report me for this. " She sighed and stood up.

" That would explain the way he acted on Normandy ." Scion said with a smug voice and what looked like a crooked smile.

* * *

Garrus felt like his eyes were close to stare a hole in the door. He was just about to give up and leave when the door swung open and Scion and the human walked out.

" What are you doing?" He hissed with his subvocals and felt how his mandibles clicked in surprise.

" The lady needs to 'take care of some business' " Scion said and gestures towards the bathroom.

Garrus felt how it suddenly got warmer and straightened up a bit. Of course she needed to use the bathroom, she was a living being after all. It annoyed him a bit that he had not even considered it.  
He gave her an apologetic look as she walked past him and quickly entered the bathroom.

" This is why I told you to leave first. I'm kind of breaking the rules here so now you have yet another thing to hide from Saren."

" Yeah ... I won't tell. " Garrus answered and cleared his throat.

Scion escorted her back to the room when she was done and left the room.  
Garrus and Scion left the cargo area in silence. They where on their way to the mess hall when Saren and Sidonis showed up.

" I take it you dealt with the thing." It was more like a statement than a question.

" Yes sir, it got a good beating." Scion answered with steady voice.

He clicked up a picture of Haniel that showed her leaning back in a chair with her arm covering her face.  
Garrus noticed a large amount of blood dripping from her cheek and arm. He guessed that the pictures had been manipulated.

" I see. A bit too soft, but it will have to do this time. " The older turian said with a nod before he excused himself and left them.

" I see you to have been promoted from prison guards to torturers. But then again what is the difference? " Sidonis said dryly as he inspected the picture.

" Well one thing lead to the other. " Scion answered as he closed the omni-tool and turned around to ready to leave.

Garrus was just about to do the same when Sidonis signalled him to stay. Garrus felt how he groaned inside and quickly looked towards Scion. Scion gave him a quick look before he nodded and left them.

" So what did you want to speak about?" Garrus asked and tried his best to keep steady eye contact with Sidonis.

" Don't stay too close to him. He is up to something and you are in the risk of being dragged down with him." Sidonis said with a hushed voice.

Garrus tensed up a bit at the words but quickly relaxed, hoping that it had gone unnoticed. Was someone already on to them? He tried to imagine what the worse case scenario would be if someone reported them and immediately felt a chill.

" What do you mean up to something?" He asked did his best to keep the subvocals from acting up.

" Something about him and the human. I can't prove anything; so far it is just a gut feeling… Just be careful. "

Garrus received a pat on the shoulder before Sidonis walked away and left him alone to worry about the current situation.

* * *

A/N ... well ... long time no see. sorry for the ... **delayed** ( _translation)_ update. At first it was college then it was writer's block ( still is but less now).

Today is my friends birthday and she loves Mass Effect. I would like to do a late dedication and dedicate this fanfiction to her.

She and everyone who has read and commented really brightens my day. So a big THANK to all of you.

I will try harder to write more, but can't promise a steady update... But i will do my best to end this XD


	14. Bunny and bird

Sidonis's words had stuck to Garrus somewhat, not enough to make him fully paranoid but on edge.  
For two days had Garrus walked around looking over his and Scion's shoulders whenever they visited the commander. On the third had Scion slapped him on the back telling him to act normal or he was out.  
Garrus had stopped looking around but he still observed his surrounding carefully.

" Are you going to explain why you have been jumpy as a bunny or not?"

Garrus turned around and saw the commander looking up at him from her chair. There were no bruises on her forehead. They had vanished pretty fast and he assumed that Scion had helped her behind his back, yet again.

" A what now? " He asked confused, as the translator did not have any correct translation for bunny.

" It's a small fluffy cute prey animal that always looks over its shoulder for predators. The tip of your nose kind of reminds me of theirs. " She said nonchalantly and touched her own nose.

Garrus snorted at the explanation, feeling a bit offended to be compared to it. He was supposed to be a hard plated turian. A race renounced for their sharp edges and talons.  
Garrus was glad that Scion and him had decided to take turns guarding her and that he was currently away. The silver-eyed turian would never have let him forget the comparison.

" I can assure you I'm no bunny. I simply like to be prepared for the worst. And that means being on my watch when sneaking behind my superior's back. "

Haniel rested her head on her hands as she leaned down over the table. Her gaze wandered around the room and settled on his own blue eyes.  
Garrus felt awkward as she kept eye contact with him and the silence between them did not help. He felt his body tensed and he suddenly became too aware of it.

" So what hunts the bunny? " He asked and cleared his throat when the silence was too heavy for him.

He hoped that she would look away giving him a moment to relax, but no luck.

" Well many animals. We have the fox, wolfs and birds of prey. Perhaps you are more like a bird of prey than a bunny. "

Garrus's eyes narrowed at the word bird. He had heard it before; the humans used it as an insult toward turians.

" Calm down big boy. I did not mean it in the bad way. A bird of prey is often an elegant, calculating and skilful being that attacks with precision. " She explained with a calm and reassuring voice.

He felt pretty content of the explanation. Skill and precision, now that was something he was okay being associated with.  
Garrus was about to make a leap and compare her to one of his native animals when the door swung open and Scion walked in.

" It's time to switch.…. what?" Scion asked as he noticed how Garrus mandibles twitched and a faint annoyance could be detected in his subvocals.

" Nothing and …. Yeah … Yeah I will be going then." Garrus answered and started to walk as slowly as he could.

He stopped at the door and gave the human commander one last look before he reluctantly left her alone with the other turian.

* * *

Scion watched as Garrus left the room and he waited until he had entered the elevator before he closed the door. He sat down across the table and gave Haniel a serious look.

" It will happen tonight. You better be ready to run."

Haniel sat up straight and gave him a small nod.

" What about my stuff? Is there anyway I can get them back? " Haniel asked and felt a bit ashamed for asking.

" Just asking. Not that I need them if I manage to escape … I can probably get a new armour and weapon when I'm back at Normandy. " She hastily added hoping that she did not seem ungrateful. This turian was after all already risking his life to let her escape.

Scion chuckled before he answered.

" I can probably get them but won't promise anything. But it will be a shame for you to cover up in armour again. You have such pretty legs. " He said and winked.

" I hope you mean by human standards or I will be pretty worried. Turian legs look so different." She snickered back at him.

" Of course, you have pretty human legs. " he reassured her with a smirk.

" So …. We are not taking the big guy with us?" Haniel asked and nodded towards the door.

She did not know why but it felt kind of sudden to leave the blue-eyed turian.

" No and he would probably not want to come. He is too much of a good turian to join in on this. " Scion answered and observed her.

Had she and Garrus somehow got closer and would it mean more work for him?  
He knew that Garrus was…..curious if not even interested in the human. But Scion was not completely sure about how she felt.

" Either way …. Thanks for doing this…."

Her words brought him back from his thoughts.

" No worry. Not every turian wants this war to last forever. "

* * *

The sound of alarm bells and Sidonis's loud voice woke Garrus up and caused him to almost fall from the bed.

" SOEMONE IS ATTACKING US ! GET YOUR WEAPON !" Sidonis yelled as he grabbed his assault rifle and tossed Garrus another one.

Garrus caught it with ease and exited the room together with him. Yet again was he surprised over the lack of crew. There were only five other tutians that were out in the corridor with their weapons ready.

" How did they manage to sneak up so close!?" Sidonis cursed and looked around for enemies.

They had yet been boarded but Garrus assumed that was just a question of time. Sidonis made his way towards the CIC. Just as Garrus was about to follow after he noticed something in the corner of his eye.  
Two figures were sneaking around under the flashing warning lights. He noticed that it was towards the directions where the escape pods were located and then it clicked for him.  
He rushed towards them and sure enough it was Haniel and Scion.

" What are you doing here? " He hissed out as he approached them.

Scion immediately had his weapon ready and Garrus readied his own out of reflex. The two of them stood still for a split second aiming at each other.

" I'm leaving. Don't try to stop me. " Haniel said with a surprisingly cold voice.

Garrus met her stare and knew that she would do anything within her power to board an escape pod. The warning lights and alarms rang but for a second all Garrus could hear was the sound of his own breathing.  
He was split in two. Should he stop them? It was the right thing to do.  
But if he tried to stop them and succeeded they would probably get punished. He did not really care about Scion. That one could need some discipline hammered into him. But the commander had already been beaten and treated as shit. He was also sure that they would not longer be allowed to be her guards so her situation would probably worsen if she were captured again.  
Garrus stood frozen on the spot and just watched as they boarded an escape pod. Suddenly his body reacted just as the door was about to shut behind them.  
Before he knew it had he boarded it too and was crammed into the small space with them. A loud clunking sound signaled that they had separerade from the ship.  
Garrus heard distressed subvocals from Scion but did not give it any thought as he was too surprised over his own action.


End file.
